The Librettist and his Art

Abstract

The idea of publishing a collection of librettos arose out of the need to take a further bold step towards the proper evolvement and development of the dance art and the dance theatre in Nigeria. One of the reasons why the dance art has lagged behind in the Nigerian theatre is the lack of written and published dance librettos. Most Nigerian choreographers have created works from their unwritten ideas or at most from mere sketches on paper, which are usually dumped, once these ideas are fully passed to the dancers. Such works are therefore not documented and made available for other choreographers to use. It is the belief of this writer that this attitude should stop forthwith.